The game between the Lakers and the Rockets was a typical game with an extreme lack of energy after double overtime.
Although they had a day off, the Lakers still didn't recover. They couldn't make three-point throws, missed layups close to home, and made even worse free throws. And, with every defensive round, the Lakers reveal frustration. In the first quarter of the game, the Lakers allowed the Rockets to score 42 points and 36 points in the second quarter.
This is another 'typical' Lakers game, and they seem to be stuck in a 'dead loop' again. Every time after two wins in a row, when people thought the team was going to get better, they started to get bad again. And after a losing streak, they will get better again, and then the cycle continues. In contrast, the young Rockets are full of energy. They grabbed 14 more rebounds than the Lakers in the half, scored more points in the restricted area, and played more transition offense than the Lakers. Therefore, the Lakers lost today, and they lost without any temper, which can be said to have been washed away by this group of young people. Among them, a young man under the age of 20 impressed everyone.
The young man was Whitmore, 19 years and 206 days. Whitmore came off the bench for four minutes in the first quarter and finished with 12 points and three rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting. When the Lakers slowly retreated like lead on their legs, Whitmore was like a supercar, running all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt, with all kinds of dragon dunks. In just a few minutes, Whitmore dunked three times in a row to beat the entire Lakers team. From here, the Rockets set the tone for the game, and the Lakers never came back from there. When Whitmore came back on the court in the second quarter, he was still full of energy. During a fast break, looking at James in front of him, Whitmore wanted to jump up the dunk, but unfortunately he got out of his hands.
In his pre-game interview, Whitmore said, "To be honest, I've been watching him play since I was born, and I've been waiting 19 years just to get into the NBA and see these stars. I can't wait to face James, I'm enjoying all of it. It is worth mentioning that Whitmore was born in July 2004, and when he was born, James had already won the honor of best rookie in the NBA. So for Whitmore, James is definitely a player from another era. When he first watched the game, James was not Whitmore's favorite star, and the 2012 Thunder was his favorite, especially Westbrook. But then, James' performance won him over.
Therefore, the best way to pay tribute to idols is to defeat them. And Whitmore did it today, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of the game. It's worth mentioning that Whitmore wasn't in the team's rotation at the start of the season, but his performance in the Development League was so good that the Rockets put him in the rotation. Whitmore doesn't seem to have any period of adaptation, and before today's game, Whitmore in January averaged less than 20 minutes per game and was tagging 124 points, ranking fifth among rookies in the same class. The top four are the core or absolute main force of the team. Therefore, Whitmore also deserves a workhorse.
Ham was also full of praise for Whitmore: "We tried out on Whitmore before the draft, and he's going to be special, healthy, and it's going to be important for him to grow. "I have to say here, how did the Lakers choose Schifino? As Whitmore got better and better, what happened to him in the draft became more and more strange. A few days before the draft, he was even a top-10 candidate. But after the draft began, the pick began to **, and even fell out of the lotto area. The Lakers drafted Schifino with the 17th pick, the Heat with the 18th pick, the Warriors with the 19th pick, and the Rockets didn't hesitate to take him with the 20th pick.
Previously, it was said that Whitmore had a heart problem, but now it is clear that this is not the case. It was later revealed that Whitmore lacked energy during the tryout, coupled with a history of injury. A combination of factors has allowed Whitmore's ranking to continue to decline. But for the Rockets, they don't have any worries because they have enough talent on the team and a lot of first-rounders, and they have no problem scratching a lottery ticket with the 20th pick.
As it turned out, Team Rocket had picked up the treasure this time.